When you think of an old-school classic dessert, chocolate cake probably comes to mind. Add in a deluge of cold milk to wash it down, and you have a timeless classic.

Jim Lacona, of Noah’s Ark Restaurant and Lounge, knows a quality cake when he tastes one. He grew up watching his dad make the Ingersoll restaurant one of the most popular in Des Moines by serving timeless classics.

Lacona says it is the quality ingredients that make a good chocolate cake,

Chocolate Blackout Cake at Noah’s Ark will make you deliriously chocolate.

and that’s why he has them shipped in from thousands of miles away. He’s traveled to San Francisco to see the bakery and watch with his own eyes as the delectable desserts are formed.

Noah’s has many chocolate cakes to choose from — a San Francisco Blackout Chocolate Cake, a Chocolate Symphony Cake, a Chocolate Windmill Cake, a Mocha Crunch and the Red Velvet Cake.

Lacona says he, too, likes the chocolate cake that has been served there since 1983.

Chocolate Windmill Cake is no slouch either. It has three layers of chocolate meringue, chocolate fudge and whipped cream wrapped in more fudge and crowned with a chocolate ganache frosting.

Lacona says many people get a glass of milk with their order or share with a partner.

“Quality ingredients,” he says about what makes a classic item stand the test of time. “A lot of distributors have brought in different desserts during the last 30 years, and I haven’t had any of them that cuts it against these. I keep going back to quality… and a baker interested in making it right.”

Noah’s chocolate cake is priced at $5.95 and is sure to be a hit to top off any hearty Italian meal.

Christopher’s in Beaverdale also serves a chocolate falling down cake, which is served warm and topped with raspberry sauce and ice cream. RELISH